After lying vacant for over an year, the community centre in Sector 71, Mohali, is functional again. It was vacated by the Mohali police around a year ago in compliance with directions issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in February 2011.

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Two other community centres, which were vacated in Phase 6 and Phase 11, continue to be under repair. With bookings now available at the Sector 71 centre, five of the eight community centres in the town are now available for the public. Officials of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) said that soon, two other community centres would start functioning, while the one at Phase 3B-1 is still being used as the district court complex.

Bookings at the Sector 71 community centre will cost Mohali residents Rs 10,500 for 24 hours with a further security deposit of Rs 5,000. A few functions have already been hosted at the centre.

In September 2013, Newsline had highlighted the poor condition of the community centres. Kuljeet Singh, an ex-councillor on whose petition the High Court had ordered the centres to be vacated, said, “It is unfortunate that the people of Mohali are being denied the facilities of some community centres. It took a long legal battle to get the community centres vacated. Instead of upgrading, renovating and installing air-conditioned halls in these centres so that people can hold social functions here, the buildings were simply deserted by the authorities.”

Another habitat centre in Phase 10 is at present being by the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, which functions under the centre government.